Defining Feminism

"Definition of feminism

1. 1:  the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes
2. 2:  organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests"

(1) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feminism

       The difference between the two definitions that Merriam Webster gives us, is that one implies the label "feminism" fights for everybody - while the other, implies the term only encompasses woman's issues/rights. What is interesting is, if you ask ten "feminists", you will get conflicting answers about what the real definition is. Most all feminists agree that one of the two definitions provided by Webster is the correct way to describe their personal label; but there is no clear answer as to whether feminism as a whole fights for everybody, or whether it fights for women.             Regardless of who the collective whole of feminists are fighting for, we know that they are fighting for the rights of people who need more rights. We know that the cause is a good cause and has the best of intentions. In it's beginning form, feminism fought for the basic rights of women; the ability to vote, own property, to work. And today, it fights to make society "fair" (but that really means, equal - which isn't always fair)! From the beginning to the current form, feminism is a good thing. Why then has it come to face such great opposition, especially from the Mens-Rights-Movement? 

       The most common argument against feminism, is that it is no longer necessary to fight for rights of women, as women have essentially the same amount of rights as men. This means either, that giving women more rights would be unfair to men; or, that women already have all of the rights that can be given to them. The problem here is that most feminists aren't actually fighting for the "rights" of women anymore - but rather, they are fighting for the equal opportunity of women and men. When people hear feminists say they fight for "equal rights" this creates confusion - as the binary genders have parallel "rights" in today's first world society. If more feminists said that they fight for equal opportunity, or to eliminate prejudice (which is what the actual fight is, these days) then it would be much harder for anybody to create an argument against feminism. Many of the people who call themselves feminists however, have not put so much thought into why they are calling themselves such.